The Australian War Memorial in Canberra will be commemorating the service and sacrifice of Vietnam veteran Lance Corporal Jack Jewry at the Last Post Ceremony on Sunday 18 August, Vietnam Veterans’ Day.
“Jack Jewry was born on 28 March 1945 in London. His family emigrated to Australia when Jack was a boy and settled in the Sydney suburb of St Marys,” Australian War Memorial historian Michael Kelly said.
“Aged 14, he met the love of his life, Susanne May, who a year younger. Inseparable, the couple became engaged when Jack was 19 and married in May 1966, shortly after Susanne’s 21st birthday.
“In 1965, Jack Jewry was among the first ³Ô¹ÏÍøÕ¾ Servicemen to receive his call-up papers for service with the Army. He was posted to the 6th Battalion, The Royal Australian Regiment (6RAR) and was flown with D Company to South Vietnam on 9 June 1966.
“On 18 August, Jack Jewry was shot and killed at Long Tan while applying a bandage to his wounded section commander, Corporal Buddy Lea, his body falling over Buddy’s back. Jack was 22 years old.
“Jack’s remains were returned to Australia and on 2 September 1966, he was accorded a funeral with full military honours.
“Jack’s young wife Susanne was pregnant, but miscarried.”
Jack Jewry’s name is listed on the Roll of Honour at the Australian War Memorial, along with more than 500 others from the Vietnam War.
The Last Post ceremony is held at 4.30 pm every day except Christmas Day in the Commemorative area of the Australian War Memorial.
Each ceremony shares the story behind one of 103,000 names on the . To date, the Memorial has delivered more than 3,800 ceremonies, each featuring an individual story of service from colonial to recent conflicts. It would take more than 280 years to read the story behind each of the 103,000 names listed on the Roll of Honour.
“The Last Post Ceremony is our commitment to remembering and honouring the legacy of Australian service,” Memorial Director Matt Anderson said.
“Through our daily Last Post Ceremony, we not only acknowledge where and how these men and women died. We also tell the stories of who they were when they were alive, and of the families who loved and, in so many cases, still mourn for them.
“The Last Post is now associated with remembrance but originally it was a bugle call to sound the end of the day’s activities in the military. It is a fitting way to end each day at the Memorial.”
The Last Post Ceremony honouring the service of Lance Corporal Jack Jewry will be live streamed to the Australian War Memorial’s YouTube page: .
The stories told at the Last Post Ceremony are researched and written by the Memorial’s military historians, who begin the process by looking at nominal rolls, attestation papers and enlistment records before building profiles that include personal milestones and military experiences.
HANDOUT image:
